PAR to Host Revenue Symposium for Association Leaders in Washington, D.C.

“Member expectations are rising, traditional revenue is flattening, and boards are asking harder questions,” says Sean Soth, founder and chair of PAR. “PAR’s symposium will equip leaders and sales pros with the language, tools, and confidence to put intentional revenue strategy at the heart of organizational decisions.”

Soth will lead the sessions “PARtnership Takes Guts, I’m In” and “Shared Scoreboard for Associations: Bringing Strategy, Story, and Sales Together.” Here’s a closer look at April 30’s other expert-led sessions.

CEO-Sales Alignment With Amy Mallia

Amy Mallia, founder of Mallia Advisory, will lead the session “Why CEO-Sales Misalignment is Expensive for Mission-Driven Organizations.” She brings deep experience helping leadership teams turn strategy into execution — built over 29 years working alongside executive teams as a professional services company grew from startup to $14 billion.

Sales is the disciplined expression of strategy — not a tactical afterthought or a necessary evil. But in many associations, the executive director and the sales lead are operating on different definitions of success, different assumptions about priorities, and different ideas about whose job it is to close the gap between them.

Mallia’s session invites them to examine that directly. Drawing on PAR’s Association BD Landscape research, participants will complete a structured diagnostic and see where misalignment shows up. Those differences reveal the hidden costs: confused staff, conflicting KPIs, and underpowered association relationships.

Attendees will leave with a clear picture of where their alignment breaks down, shared language to start addressing it, and a single, specific starting point.

“The ED and the BD lead are often not in the room together when strategy gets built,” Mallia says. “So they can’t stress test it and own it together. The diagnostic creates that conversation — whether they work through it in the room that day or bring it back to their team.“​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Translating Strategy Into the Field with Michael Tatonetti

Michael Tatonetti, PhD, CPP, CAE, founder of Pricing for Associations, will lead the session “Strategy to Street Level: Translating Strategy and Narrative Into the Field.” He’ll share insights from his rare lens at the intersection of pricing, value strategy, and association business models.

“Through my work with associations across industries, I’ve seen firsthand where strategy breaks down — typically not in the idea itself, but in how it’s communicated, priced, and brought to market,” he says. 

CEOs and senior sales leaders often speak different but equally important languages: one in strategy decks and board priorities, the other in objections, budgets, and day‑to‑day member realities. This hands-on working session builds the bridge between them. 

Together, CEOs and sales leads will identify top business development priorities for the year ahead and translate each into clear, compelling, member‑facing narratives that frontline staff can use in calls, emails, and event conversations. Working in mixed CEO/sales teams, participants will pressure-test these stories against real-world criteria and leave with a short set of field‑ready messages and a repeatable process for keeping strategy and sales in sync.

“Most conversations in associations focus on what to offer,” Tatonetti says. “I focus on how to translate that into revenue in a way members and partners actually understand and are willing to pay for. In today’s climate, clarity is a competitive advantage, and this session is designed to deliver it.”

Tatonetti will help participants move beyond vague goals to measurable revenue outcomes, turn strategy into language frontline teams can actually use, and connect value, pricing, and messaging into one system.

Creating Your Action Plan with Lewis Flax 

Lewis Flax, president of Flax Associates and lead coach of PAR’s Growth Coaching program, will facilitate the closing working session “Learn and Lead: Your 7‑Day Move.” Flax has over 25 years of experience working with and for associations, including as a direct producer and team leader. 

Flax will guide participants in sharing key takeaways from Association Business Week, highlighting small wins already in motion, and committing to one clear step in the week ahead. Attendees will gain a simple, integrated operating picture for growth — so strategy, story, and sales execution stay aligned long after the workshop.

“Ever leave a conference with notes, brochures, and information, and it ends up sitting on your desk collecting dust?” Flax says. “You feel inspired at the end of the event, yet nothing happens. This session empowers you to turn your ideas into immediate action. You’ll walk away with a strong focus, confidence, and a concrete plan leading to revenue growth.”